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We had a wonderful time in London, after we got off the cruise ship. Vickie needed some "down time". Cathy, Craig and I were adventurous and decided to try out the Underground. The station was right by our hotel and an all-day pass cost 7 pounds 50 pence. We could also ride on the city buses with this pass, so considered it quite a bargain. It was misting some, but not bad at all. Considering the sunny weather we had for the rest of our vacation, we decided that we couldn't complain. We went to find Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and St. Paul's Cathedral. We got to St. Paul's just in time for Evensong ! What a beautiful service. The voices of the choir were phenomenal ... you had to pay to tour the Cathedral, but Evensong was free.

The next day, July 8, all 4 of us took the Underground into London ... our hotel was at Heathrow Airport. We toured the Tower of London for most of the morning. It is a lot bigger than we thought it was. We saw the Crown Jewels and Craig could not believe that they did not appear to have armed guards ! He was positive that the jewels were paste.
After lunch, we then took the Underground and the National Railroad to Hampton Court Palace in Surrey. Regrettably, we arrived just an hour and a half before it was due to close, so they recommended that we not pay for the tour as we wouldn't have time to view the 70 rooms with their furnishings. I wish we had gone there first, instead of the Tower of London. They also had a flower show on the grounds and we saw hoardes of people taking the Train with their purchases. Vickie and I were drooling over the beautiful flowers and plants.
We then took the train and the Underground to Piccadilly Circus, which reminded us of Times Square. Finally, took the Underground back to our hotel to pack for our trip home ... sadly.


We arrived at LAX around 10:30 PM on Thursday, July 9, after traveling for toooooo many hours! The flight from London to Washington DC took about 7 hours. Then we had to retrieve our luggage from Virgin Atlantic, go to the Southwest Airlines desk to get our tickets and check our luggage in again. The lines at Security were at least an hour long. We flew from Washington DC to Chicago in a little over 2 hours, changed planes, flew to LAX in about 4 hours. What a trip !
Vickie's daughter, Leah, picked us up at LAX .... she gets the "Daughter of the Year" award for 2009! She dropped Vickie off at her house in Whittier, then took us to our vehicle in Ontario. We got to our house around 1 AM, and Darryl picked Cathy up ... we then went to bed.

Of course we have Jet Lag afterwards .... in my case, I think a big part of it was lack of sleep. But we are recovering and have a lot of wonderful, wonderful memories !!

Monday, July 6

The Louvre

At the Eiffel Tower

Yesterday was a day at sea, but we got quite a bit accomplished ..... however, there was a bit of excitement. One of the passengers had to be evacuated via the Royal Air Force air rescue helicopter.

Believe it or not, we are getting a little tired of the ship's food. Is that blasphemy?


This morning, the ship docked at Le Havre, which is in Normandy. It is about 2 1/2 - 3 hours from Paris. We booked a trip into Paris, knowing that we would only have aobut 4 hours to spend there, deciding that it would be worth it. Boy, are we glad we did !!


Once again, the weather has been favorable ... cloudy, but no rain while we were outside. We took the hop-on-hop-off bus again so that we could see as much as possible. We ate lunch in a little sidewalk cafe and the waiter spoke English and was very friendly. The sights were sooooo awesome. Craig and I have decided that we would love to come back here again. We had been a little leery, based on the comments we have heard in the past about the arrogant Parisians, but didn't experience that at all !

We just got back to the ship. There probably won't be any more postings until we get home, as the ship docks tomorrow. Tomorrow night and the next night we will be staying at a hotel near the Heathrow Airport and then be flying home on July 9.
Thank you for following us on our grand adventure !!
See everyone soon.
Suzan, Craig, Vickie and Cathy

Saturday, 4th of July

I just want Darrell to know that we are having FUN! It has been such a wonderful experience, we are unable to convey it adequately in words.

Today, we landed in South Queensferry, which is about 20 minutes outside of Edinburgh. Craig still isn't feeling very well, so he stayed on the ship and recuperated. He still has been running quite a temp, in spite of the antibiotics.

So, Vickie, Cathy and I took a shuttle into Edinburgh, which is the capitol of Scotland. The whole town is phenomenol. Many buildings dating from the 12th century on ... and I do mean many. Everywhere we looked we saw the most phenomenol structures. We took the hop-on-hop-off bus to see as much as possible, then decided where to get off on the second time around. We got off near Edinburgh Castle, had lunch at this neat tavern, then walked up to the castle. We did not go into the castle as it was way too crowded. We don't like being pushed and urged on ...

The city is so crowded, probably since it is a Saturday and the weather is gorgeous. Whenever we would start to get too warm, the clouds would hide the sun and we would cool down again. It wasn't the least bit cold, though.

My grandmother had told me that my grandfather's family was originally from Scotland. I found some information on the Murrays, which was fun. Doubt that he was a direct descendent, but it was still fun.

From the castle, we walked down to the Grassmarket area, which is a large square ringed by shops. There was a portable bandstand there and quite a few people were doing the tango ... with an instructor. A little further down, there was another portable bandstand but, before we could find out what they were doing, the bus came along and we hopped on again. Went by Holyrood Palace but couldn't go in, as the Queen was in residence. Craig forgot to send her a note letting her know we were going to be here or we would probably have been invited for tea.

Before we got on the shuttle to go to Edingburgh, we met this elderly lady who was trying to find out how to get to Edingburgh. She is 90 years old, in excellent physical shape, and is from San Juan Capistrano, CA !! We kinda took her under our wings and she stayed with us for most of the trip.

Cathy and I have decided that we love Scotland and would love to spend a week or two here in the future. It is such a beautiful country and the people are phenomenol.

Friday

Mural on side of building.

Yesterday was a day at sea. Craig has been quite sick, running a high temp and coughing a lot. Thank goodness we brought along his antibiotic and decongestant for his sinus infection, as that is what it turned out to be. We just hung around, watched some movies on TV, read and ate a lot. We went to an origami box-making class and a presentation on Acupuncture, where I won a free acupuncture worth $150.

By today, Craig was feeling well enough to go to breakfast, but didn't eat much. We landed in a beautiful little port town by the name of Invergordon. Craig stayed on the ship to convalesce. and we walked around the town, visited their museum which had a wonderful display from the old county hospital. The problem with that was that Vickie and I remember many of the items displayed !!

Many of the buildings had beautiful murals painted on the sides. About 45 cruise ships that stop here during "the season". We have had beautiful weather, with temps in the 70's, which the locals say is unusual. Took a local bus to the Dunmore distillery, sampled some wonderful single malt whiskey and bought some. Then walked down into their little town of Invers (I think that was its name) and had lunch, at a little cafe called Meg's. Then took the bus back to Invergordon, where I realized that I had lost my camera. We went into one of the local shops, where they called Meg's, and they had my camera. One of the ladies from Megs was coming into Invergordon after they closed and she brought me my camera! How lucky I was !! We love listening to their speech, too.

After we got back to the ship, Craig went for the Acupuncture treatment for his hands. They have been causing him a lot of pain the entire trip ... it's his arthritis. Afterwards, he was able to make a fist, which he wasn't able to do before. We may check to see if Kaiser covers Acupuncture when we get back.

On to South Queensferry and Edinburgh tomorrow.

Wednesday

We disembarked in Greenock this morning, which is on the coast of Scotland. We were met by men in kilts playing bagpipies. Then Vickie, Cathy, Craig and I took a local train into Glasgow. The train pulled into this HUGE station that was really awesome. From there we walked and ended up on another hop-on-hop-off bus. Got off near Glasgow University, which was holding a graduation, and at lunch at a little shop. Got back on the bus and got off at Glasgow Cathedral. This cathedral used to be a Roman Catholic Cathedral but is now a Presbyterian Cathedral. One of the volunteers there said it is a "live" cathedral, in other words they hold services there. It used to be white, but has aged. Since it is made of Sandstone, they can't do anything to clean it up. It was huge and beautiful. They even have a special nurse's area, since they are next to the Glasgow University. On the hillside behind the cathedral is a "necropolis" where thousands of people have been interred over the years. We were just sorry we didn't have enough time to go through it.

Tuesday

We are in Belfast today. The surrounding hills and countryside are green and beautiful. Cathy, Craig and I took a city bus out to Carrickfergus Castle, which was first built in 1183. It has been renovated many times over the years and was delightful to tour. Finally feel like we are in Ireland ! Came back to Belfast on the bus and the city was sooooo crowded. Kids are out of school and are milling around town. All in all, a very enjoyable day. The weather has been nice, warm and sunny. I think we have brought the good weather with us ??

Monday

We are in Liverpool today, named for the mythical liver ... NOT pronounced like the calf's liver !

We are spending longer here than any of the other ports thus far, and it seems that there is less of interest. Vickie is still not feeling well, so she stayed on board while Cathy, Craig and I walked around. The big draw here is the Beetles' connection, but we are not big Beetles' fans. Found a wonderful shopping mall, promoted as the largest in England, so we did some shopping. Prices weren't bad at all. Of course, spending pounds is like spending monopoly money ...

We were back on the ship by 2:00 PM (didn't have to be back until 6:00 PM) and started a load of laundry.

It's on the Belfast tomorrow, which should be a lot of fun.

Sunday

We are in Dublin, where it has been overcast most of the day. It hasn't been cold, though, nor has it rained, which made us happy. Vickie has been suffering from a "cold" the last couple of days, which is putting a damper on it for her. So far, the rest of us are doing well. We took a shuttle from the dock into Dublin and walked to Trinity College. Such a neat, historical place ! We really wanted to see the Book of Kells, but the line was way toooooo long, so we had to pass. Then we walked, and walked, and walked until we got to St. Patrick's Cathedral, which is a Protestant Cathedral. We couldn't go into the building as the Sunday service was in session.

Then we caught the on-and-off tour bus, which dropped us off at the Guinness Storage Building, where we took a tour, sampled their Draught which is not available in the U.S. (alcohol 7.5%, instead of 4.5% like all the other beers), bought some souvenirs. Caught the tour bus to the Jamison Distillery and had lunch at the Brazen Head Pub ... the oldest pub in Dublin. Excellent food, too. Craig had bangers and mash, Cathy had the Beef and Guinness stew, I had the Traditional Irish Stew and Vickie had the Seafood Chowder ... along with a pint of Guinness !!

After that, we walked to the Jamison Distillery and went into their gift shop. Didn't take the tour as time was getting short. Then we caught the tour bus back to the shuttle bus stop. Our only regret is that we didn't make it to the Dublin Castle. We could see it over the rooftops, but time ran out.

Tomorrow, we are on to Liverpool. Updates to follow.

Saturday

This morning, we were in Cobh (pronouced COVE, honest!), Ireland. This is the port from which the Titanic sailed on her fatal journey. We took the train for a 30 minute ride into Cork, which is the 3rd biggest city in Ireland. In Cork, we took a hop-on-hop-off bus tour that was a big disappointment. It did not go by any of the sites that we wanted to see, in spite of the advertisements. Took the train back to Cobh and explored that little town. Cobh was a lot nicer and had more beautiful scenery than did Cork. We climbed up a pretty steep hill to St. Colman Cathedral, built in 1808, which was absolutely beautiful. Looked down on the whole city and the port from up high.

Below is proof of why we always bring Craig along on our trips .... someone has to carry our stuff !!

Tonight is a formal night and then we will be in Dublin tomorrow morning. More to come ....

Tuesday Evening

We were directed to a bar that is offering complimentary "samples" of their exotic drinks ... for 3 nights only. Obviously, we didn't want to let anybody down, so took advantage of their offer. Last night we had a "Brizza Marina", which consisted of a lime liquor etc. Became our favorite until we tried the one tonight. Vickie also had to try the limoncello with a souvenir glass. What a great trip !

Tuesday

Today, we were in St. Peter Port, which is on the island of Guernsey ... but, we didn't see any cows, which are named after the island (Guernsey cows?)! Lots of cute little shops, though. We took a city bus trip around the whole island, which lasted a little over an hour. Their main industry here, according to one person we talked to, is tourists. Secondly, this is an area that has little or no taxation, so some of the businesses from England make their headquarters here.

Monday's Pictures

The Swan, the pub near our hotel, in London. And, Big Ben, of course.

Monday

We left Ontario at 6:40 AM Monday morning on Southwest Airlines. Flew to Phoenix, then on to Chicago where we changed planes. Flew from Chicago to Washington D.C., where we then changed to Virgin Atlantic. Left Washington after 11 PM, arrived in London about 11:30 AM Tuesday. We slept some on the plane but were still pretty tired. We were met at the airport by a driver with a van, who then drove us to our hotel. We were very pleased with our hotel, which was a good thing as we were too tired to do anything about it if we weren't! Walked around some, then took a nap, ended up going to dinner at The Swan, a neighborhood pub. Craig and I were on the 7th floor and our room looked out over Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. Quite a beautiful location. Vickie and Cathy's room overlooked an apartment building, which they will never let us forget!

Then we walked down Queen's Way to look at all the souvenir shops and the local shopping center, Whiteley's. Had dinner at a wonderful Lebanese restaurant where the food was great and the people were friendly. I was quite impressed with how clean London is, and how friendly everyone is as well. Almost everyone we talked to was from another country.
All of us slept quite well Tuesday night, as you can imagine.

On Wednesday, we took the Big Bus tour, which was a hop on and hop off tour. Saw a lot of wonderful sights, Tower of London, Big Ben, St. Paul's Cathedral, the London Eye, Picadilly Circus (which just means "circle"), and even shopped at Harrod's. Stopped, not shopped! Those prices are waaaaaay out of our league. Nordstrom's doesn't even compete with them.
Went back to our room and took a nap again, even Cathy !
We then walked through Kensington Gardens and around Kensington Palace, where Princess Diana resided. We walked down "Embassy Row" and saw all the beautiful Embassies and private mansions located there. Cathy and I were looking through a wrought iron gate at one of the embassies, when a voice came over the intercom, telling us "Ladies, please do not touch the gates." Who, us????
Went to dinner for Indian food, then went back to the hotel and to bed !

Finally, today we had a driver take us to Southamptom to the cruise ship. We didn't have as much energy to do things as we thought we would !! Pictures will be forthcoming, hopefully tomorrow. We have to work out a few connection issues to download them, but hopefully that will be worked out successfully.

Preparing for our vacation

Trying not to stress out about packing and what clothes to take. Probably won't bother with shorts ?? We'll see.

Here is our Itinerary:
June 22: Cathy, Tory, Craig and I will fly from Ontario, CA to Washington D.C. We then fly Virgin Atlantic to London Heathrow. We spend 3 days in London and then board our cruise ship for 12 days.

June 25: Depart Southampton, England and go to Guernsey (England), Cork (Cobh), Dublin (Ireland), Liverpool (England), Belfast (No Ireland), Glasgow (Scotland), Inverness/Loch Ness (Scotland), Endinburgh (Scotland), Paris/Normandy (France), and then back to Southampton.

Stay tuned for pictures and notes.